Of course you may just pick the first name that comes to your mind, but don’t you think there are lots of interesting options waiting for you to settle upon? Some people have already searched for good ideas and here’s what they have thought of:

• Names of places — countries, cities, geographic localities.
• Food and drink items, from sweets to alcohol - they all can serve as basis to name the dog (my friend’s dog is named Dunkin, after his favorite place to buy a cup of coffee, Dunkin Donuts).
• Names of celebrities are widely-used - singers, actors, sports stars or media personalities.
• Mythology, fiction, movies, cartoons characters are other popular alternatives.
• Nature - all of its diversity.
• Favorite brands are one of the recent trends in dog naming.
• Appearance and personality traits, be it a habit or a physical character - they’re all handy.
• The dog’s place in the family hierarchy.

All of these suggestions may guide you towards making the right decision. However, people make frequent mistakes with male dog names that are easy to avoid if you follow these common rules:

First of all, beware of giving your dog a name that doesn’t fit its breed’s origin or traits. And also be sure that you give your male dog a definite, masculine name.

Second, don’t name your dog after a close relative, colleague or a friend. They may be more offended than proud as a result. And if you prefer a celebrity’s name, don’t choose a politician’s name, at least.

Third, try to avoid long, complex names that are difficult to pronounce, understand and remember. Choose an innovative one instead.

Finally, if you want to choose from different, exciting and creative male dog names make sure that all your family members understand the meaning and like the way it sounds, or at least seek everybody’s permission before choosing the name yourself.

After all, names are forever, so consider your dog’s personality and charisma to choose the most meaningful name of all.

Photo © exfordy

Pets bring a lot of joy to our lives. In order to make your pet happy, you need to give him a lot of things –accessories, medicines, clothing and food.

Raising a pet is not an easy task. It can be as hard as bringing up a child. You do your best to provide your children with everything. Your pet also must be provided with all needed things. Pet owners should fulfill their pet’s needs.

If you are a dog owner, you should give your pet a bath regularly and keep it clean. Go for walks and regularly take it to veterinarian. Give your pet necessary attention and health care. You have already bought toys, bedding supplies, shampoo and clothing accessories for your pet. But you’re always in the mood to buy a gift. There are special shops where you can find gift for pets.

Dogs usually like to sleep peacefully, so you can buy a suitable and comfortable bed for him or her.

If you have a little dog and it doesn’t like walking much, then you can buy a stroller for it. Strollers are not very expensive–prices start at $50. Some pet owners care about their pets so much that they even buy sun lotion!

The Pet Cell is not a cheap gift for pets. It clips on your pet’s collar and gives you an opportunity to talk with it wherever you are. The Pet Cell costs about $300.

The most expensive gift for pets is a fur coat. It is unusual to see a bushy little animal wearing a fur coat, but there are people who don’t find it unusual and buy it for their pets.

Other seemingly strange gifts include raincoats, sun caps and Nike doggy trainers.

Most people consider their pets as a part of their family, as a close friend. They treat them like children. Taking care of a pet is a very expensive thing, but pet owners don’t save even a dollar to make their loved pets happier.

Photo © Randy Son Of Robert

So, what can you do to keep them from feeling alone when you are not at home? I myself didn’t know what to do, until one day I found out that my cat likes music a lot (especially pop music). For this reason I always switch on the radio before I leave the house and let my cat enjoy herself while I am out. You can do the same.

But if you see that your cat feels well when playing, you can consider special toys for cats. Today a lot of pet stores offer a wide range of toys for pets and you can find many interesting toys at any price and quality.

What toys can you buy for your cat to prevent her/him from feeling lonely?

Toy box - This thing greatly interests almost all cats. The first thing you should do is to fill the box with as many toys as possible (the more the toys, the more your cat will be attracted by the toy box). And only before leaving, allow your cat to play with it. It is in cats’ nature to mix everything around themselves and to start picking and choosing. This process may last for hours.

Babble ball - Babble ball is a special mechanism that produces sounds. There is hardly any cat who is indifferent to sounds. It means that your cat will try to find out where these sounds come from, even if he gets tired. Why? Because his curiosity won’t let him calm down without getting an answer.

By the way don’t try to use this pet cat toy at nights when you are at home and sleeping. Your cat may jump into your bed thinking that it is you. I tell you that from my own experience!

Play and treat balls - These balls will also help you to entertain your cat. They are filled with treats which fall out from different sides of the balls as he/she is rolling them. But you should know that these balls are a bit more expensive than other toys ($6.49-$12.96).

There are still many other toys for cats like a cat toy mouse, catnip cigar, cat dancer and charmer. All these toys can be perfect solutions for you cat. Believe me, your cat knows that you are doing that for his sake and he appreciates that.

But don’t forget that although your cat is playing, he/she is always waiting for you to come back. And maybe that is one of the main reasons you keep pets — to have someone to wonder or worry about you when you’re not at home.

Photo © BigTallGuy

Dog ear infection is divided into three types:

• Outer ear infection
• Middle ear infection
• Inner ear infection

Now let’s start from the outer ear infection which is easy to recognize. Its main symptom is inflammation. If you notice that your dog scratches ears quite frequently, take him to a veterinarian. As for middle and inner ear infections, they cause more serious problems and need a special treatment. Dogs with flopped ears are more likely to get this because of long hairs may get into the ear.

If your dog has ear mites, it’s likely that he also suffers from an ear infection. Young dogs are prone to ear mites.

It’s important to know the symptoms of the ear infection in order to take the appropriate measures.

What are the symptoms of a dog ear infection?

If your dog scratches in one particular area, then there is definitely a problem. When your dog cocks his head and is rubbing his own ears, take him to the vet.  Another symptoms are inflammation, balance problems, redness and so on.

How to prevent dog ear infection:

First of all you may prevent it with the right care in proper hygienic conditions. Dogs that are well-kept rarely suffer from serious diseases. Pay attention to the dog’s ears when bathing as they should not get wet. Also it’s not necessary to clean a dog’s ears unless wax is not noticeable on the outer part of the ear. But when necessary, use cotton swabs. Also protect your pets from mites–there are special mite protection powders.

Dog ear infections can lead to serious health problems if not treated when necessary. Every minor problem left untreated, grows into a major one.

For treatment you should take your dog to a veterinarian. He will give a proper diagnosis and prescribe certain medications for your pet that will help your dog recover.

Keep your pet healthy!

Photo: © Randy Son Of Robert

Having a rat as a pet is not as simple as it sounds. First of all you should ask yourself: “Am I able to provide this marvelous creature with a home, comfort and stress-free life for about three years?” You wonder, what is a stress-free life for a rat? First of all, you should keep it away from predators, loud noise, and a bad environment. You should feed it regularly and spend at least an hour a day playing with it.

Once a week a rat pet needs to wander outside it’s cage, so you should provide your pet with that opportunity. Find a room where a rat can walk around safely, and you may want to cover the area where it walks with a blanket, so that the rat does not “mark” your room.

The cage must be well-ventilated, and the best cage for a rat pet is a wire one. You can supply it with pet toys, ropes, ladders, tree branches and anything else, whatever you think will make your pet’s life entertaining.

Once you have decided to buy a rat pet, why not buy two of them at once? You should do this because your rat will need company. Rats are social creatures, and nothing can be better for a rat, then another rat. And for you it will be much more fun to watch your rats play with each other. But make sure you place rats of the same sex in one cage of course, if you don’t want to become a proud owner of a whole clan of rats.

Male rats are more calm and easy to tame–they rarely behave aggressive, unlike females. Females are more active and aggressive.

It is better to buy a rat pet from a breeder, rather than from a pet shop. Rats from breeders are tamed and they are less likely to be ill. An experienced rat owner can give you good advice and help you care for your rat.

Photo© Peter Kaminski

Nowadays there are many veterinary assistant schools, which specialize in animal care programs. These schools aim to increase your knowledge, helping you to become a competent and skillful veterinary assistant.

A veterinary assistant school can be very helpful both for animal lovers, who have very little professional knowledge about them, and for professional trainers.

If you are a professional trainer and consider studying in such schools pointless, you are mistaken. Nowadays professional companies and people in general like to deal with those having diplomas, with certified veterinary assistants. Formal certification inspires trust towards you in people.

The importance of these schools can’t be ignored, as you will cover such subjects as anatomy, animal nursing, public health, personal hygiene and so on. Students will learn about vaccinations and how to use medical equipment. They will even be given the chance to perform simple surgeries.

These courses will help them build relationships with all kinds of animals and handle every situation. After all your knowledge of only cats and dogs can’t insure your bright vet assistant career. Today veterinary care includes many non-conventional pets. Therefore, for a simple animal lover it would be very difficult to treat such exotic animals as snakes and lizards.

So, if animals are indeed an integral part of you life, don’t hesitate to start a career in pet care. Surely animal jobs are not among the easiest, but they can help you make a living and get pleasure at the same time.

Then you must think about finding your place in the animal jobs industry.

More and more people become pet owners each year, so the popularity of veterinary science and jobs connected to it rises from year to year. Veterinary technicians, veterinary assistants, animal trainers, zoologists and people of similar professions become more and more in demand.

If you want to be surrounded by animals all the time, and if you want to have an opportunity to communicate with them, help them and take care of them, then perhaps the best choice for you is to become a veterinary assistant.

A vet assistant usually works at animal clinics and hospitals, but he or she may also find a job at an animal rescue shelter, kennel, zoo or in a pet shop. And responsibilities will vary depending on the workplace: in veterinary clinics or hospitals he may help sterilize the surgical equipment, while in kennels, animal shelters and zoos he may provide care for the animals, feed them, wash them and do similar tasks.

The job of a vet assistant sounds quite easy and interesting, but it demands certain skills and knowledge. Veterinary assistant schools will give you the necessary knowledge about the animals, their behavior and their needs.

After you graduate from your veterinary assistant school, finding a job in animal care-related field won’t be very difficult, since professionals in veterinary service are really in demand but they can sometimes be difficult to find.

Sometimes they may look at us with such beautiful, innocent and childish eyes, that we just go mad. Very often we may forget that they are animals and start to treat them as family members or as our own children.

Like little children they also need special attention, love and care. And the more attention we pay to them the more they need to get.

However, taking care of pets is not as easy as it seems to be. They need special food, a special place to sleep and even special toys.

Taking care of your pet’s health is also very important. You have to take it to the veterinarian from time to time to be sure about its good health. But the expenses connected with your pet’s health may not always be affordable for you.

If you are in a similar situation, do not get upset: insurance companies will help you. If you buy insurance for your pet, the company will give you financial support, helping you to cover the medical expenses for your pet.

If you are not sure about what insurance company to choose, you may find useful information about various companies on the internet. By the way, many companies offer their services online, so you can get an insurance online quote.

Do not forget that pets may sometimes turn to be your only trustworthy companions. Do your best to provide them with the best care and attention.

Photo © eleda 1

There are countless dogs names you may give your pet, but do think before giving a preference to this or that one. You’ll need to call that name so many times per day for so many years, which is why it must be well thought over.

Of course there are some names that may be given to both boy and girl dogs but you may also make your choice from special boy dog names, for instance Max, Buddy, Bailey, Rocky and Jake, and girl dog names, with popular ones being Molly, Bella, Lucy, Roxy, Gracie and Coco.

If you don’t want a proper name for your pet you may name him with any other name, but in this case be more attentive and take the word’s meaning into account. Your dog must not be confused when hearing his name just because it sounds like any other word or command like no, yes or sit.

It’s also preferable to have a short name for your dog as he will more easily remember and get accustomed to it. Besides, you will feel more comfortable when calling him. But if in any case the chosen name is not short, have a short version as well and be even more attentive to use the same short variant each time, do not change it.

Your dog is your friend and he needs a unique name that will express his character, so be extremely attentive while choosing it from a variety of names of dogs.

Of course, not all pets can be good trip companions, but quiet and trained dogs are irreplaceable in such cases. Surprising as it may sound, dogs enjoy traveling as much as humans do. They share the same excitement when finding themselves in new places and meeting new people.

Besides, when you leave for some place for a long time, leaving your pets, especially your dogs all alone, they undergo serious stress. Even the most relaxed and trained dogs may become agitated with everyone around them. Dogs have a sense of being abandoned.

In order to avoid such circumstances and prevent insult to my dearest dog, I took him with me while traveling to California. I had arranged a three-month fitness vacation for me at a California fitness camp. Since I gained too much weight I had to turn to a weight loss retreat. I knew that I was going to face many difficulties, and a good companion would be great support for me.

After that trip, I came to the following conclusion: “Wherever I travel, I’ll take my dog with me.” No other companion can give me as much positive energy during my trip as he does.

Photo: © cbcastro